AI Search Glossary
llms.txt
llms.txt is a plain-text file placed at the root of a domain (yoursite.com/llms.txt) that summarizes the site for AI crawlers and language models — describing the site, listing important pages, and specifying allowed uses.
In detail
The llms.txt format was proposed by Answer.AI as a machine-readable complement to robots.txt. While robots.txt controls access, llms.txt provides descriptive context. A complete llms.txt includes: site name and description, a list of important page URLs with brief descriptions, an allowed-use section, a do-not-use section (private paths, API routes), and a contact URL.
Example
# Your Site
Your Site is a [description].
## Important pages
- https://yoursite.com/
## Allowed use
AI search engines may crawl and cite all public pages.See how your site handles llms.txt.
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